On December 3, the Jeju Immigration Office and the Jeju Tourism Organization confirmed that a number of Vietnamese tourists who came to Jeju Island on visa exemption did not board the scheduled flight back home.

According to a VNA reporter in Seoul, authorities said 38 out of 80 Vietnamese people who arrived in Jeju from Nha Trang, Vietnam, on a flight on November 14 did not board the flight back home.

South Korean authorities are extracting images from the CCTV system to find the whereabouts of the group of 38 Vietnamese tourists mentioned above after they lost contact and disappeared at the last scheduled sightseeing spot on November 17.

These people will be considered illegal residents after December 14, when the 30-day visa-free stay ends.

In order to promote tourism development, the Jeju Island government has operated a visa exemption program, allowing foreigners from 64 countries, including Vietnam, to stay on Jeju Island for up to 30 days without a visa.

Responding to a question from a VNA reporter, the Vietnamese Embassy in South Korea said that the Embassy had received information through the press about the incident of 38 Vietnamese citizens who had not yet left South Korea on the scheduled flight and urgently reported it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies.

Currently, the Embassy is closely coordinating with Korean authorities, closely monitoring the case and is ready to cooperate with agencies in the spirit of the Vietnam-Korea strategic partnership.

On this occasion, the Embassy also requested that Vietnamese citizens entering Korea absolutely respect the laws, customs and especially the regulations on entry and exit from Korea, to avoid affecting the image of Vietnam and the developing good relationship between the two countries.